


Moonlighting

by Phnx



Category: Hikaru no Go
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-09 04:38:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14709236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phnx/pseuds/Phnx
Summary: A new hero has entered the scene and turned the Hero Institute on its head.My submission for tuuli's second unofficial round of Blind Go.





	Moonlighting

When Hikaru slinks into the Institute in the early morning, scrubbing at his bleary eyes, his fellow heroes-in-training are already buzzing with excitement over the latest fight.

“Is this about Touya, again?” he asks Waya. “Did he save an orphanage of kittens or what?”

Waya gives Hikaru a look that is eerily similar to the one he’d been given by his mother just before he left for the day, when he’d asked her if she thought their ornamental ceramic rooster wasn’t laying any eggs because it was lonely. It’s not Hikaru’s fault that no one understands his humor.

_Perhaps more people would recognize your jokes for what they are if they were actually funny._

“No, it’s not about _Touya_! Don’t you pay attention to anything at all, Shindou? sai fought off a high-level pro-hero last night!”

Hikaru affects a shocked look. “So is this sai a bad guy now? Are we going on alert?”

“No, the pro has been on the villain list for weeks now. The point is that sai _won_.”

Hikaru shrugs.

“Don’t you see, Shindou? This means there’s no way sai is an amateur! He’s got to be one of us!”

“And… that’s a big deal?”

Waya shakes his head as though he can’t believe Hikaru is real. 

_He has good instincts._

“I guess,” Hikaru hazards, “that he must be really strong?”

Hikaru barely manages to restrain his laughter at Waya’s expression.

It’s not only that sai is powerful, Hikaru knows. That alone would be worthy of gossip and speculation but would ultimately cause little concern. What sets sai so far apart from his peers is that he came from nowhere and is known by no one. All of the other heroes have a mentor, a guide, or attended an institute. No one who is rumored to be as powerful as the Meijin himself simply climbs out of the cracks in the pavement, full-grown and armed for battle. No one except for sai.

_I did not appear out of nowhere. I have been here for centuries, waiting for someone to hear my voice._

“What’s on the agenda for today?” Hikaru asks, growing bored of the subject.

“Rumor has it that we’ll be getting our exam schedules. I just hope I don’t have to go up against Fuku during the practicals.”

“You’ll be fine,” says Hikaru reassuringly.

Perhaps, he reflects later, he should have been reassuring himself.

_Oh dear._

“Ochi,” Waya says thoughtfully, peering down at his letter. “That’s not so bad, I guess. What about you, Shindou?” He looks up when Hikaru remains silent. “Shindou? Are you okay?”

Hikaru knows he must be pale, that his terror must be written on his face. “I don’t know,” he whispers.

Waya whips the letter out of Hikaru’s frozen hands and glares at it. When he reads the directions for Hikaru’s first exam, he rolls his eyes. “This is what you’re so scared of, Shindou? It’s just the first-tier theory exam. I passed this years ago. I can’t believe you haven’t had to take it yet.”

“It’s not actually required until the A-level benchmarks,” says Hikaru mournfully. “I thought I would at least get to take the practicals first. What do I do?”

“Study? Shindou, these exams are a breeze. You just have to answer a few questions on crime-fighting history, ethics, politics, a few different strategies--it’s nothing.”

“Ethics as in, hurting people is bad?”

Waya stares at him. “I think I still have some of my old study guides. Would you like me to…”

“You’re my hero.”

Waya laughs. “Glad I’m somebody’s hero, anyway.”

●○●○●

It’s not late, not yet. The last tendrils of sunlight have only just faded into stars, and out in the distance, Tokyo’s city center is still ablaze with lights and noise and people. But here, in a far corner of the metropolis, the buzz of the day has already been swept from the streets, and everything has faded into a quiet glow and dim murmurs. It is a time when Hikaru, known above all else for being _visible_ , should feel out of place, like the proverbial nail sticking straight up out of the quiet evening landscape. Instead, this is when he feels most at peace, when he can sink inside himself and breathe in the night’s rhythm.

Of course, he has an additional, secret reason to love this time of night.

“Sai?” he asks softly. “Do you see anything interesting?”

Hikaru feels a soft hum quiver through him, like the tail end of a sigh.

_Not since you asked me last, Hikaru. I thought you planned to spend tonight studying for your exam?_

Hikaru grimaces. “I’m pretty sure we agreed not to talk about that.”

_It is very important to do well on these benchmark exams, you know. If you do not pass, you will not be able to advance to the next level at the Hero Institute, and then you will not be able to join a team to fight against the prominent villains, and then--_

“Yes, Sai, I know--and then I’ll be stuck corralling bubblegum thieves until the next exam period. I appreciate your concern and everything, but the nagging isn’t helping my stress levels, you know?”

Sai remains silent, which is unusual enough that Hikaru feels a slight tremble of trepidation. “Sai?”

_I am detecting elevated levels of energy coming from two-hundred and seventy-two meters southwest. Turn left at the street ahead._

Hikaru grins and pulls down his mask as he picks up his pace, widening his stride into a run. The mask is symbolic rather than strictly necessary--he can feel Sai’s power sliding along him has he races down the street, wreathing him in flexible, lightweight metal disks in black and white. It only takes a moment for him to be completely armored and anonymous, identifiable only as sai, the vigilante whose recent appearance in Tokyo has turned the hierarchy of heroes worldwide on its head.

_We are coming into visual range now._

“I see it, I think. Some kind of fire or something? What’s going on?”

_I am uncertain. However, I have identified the target: Gokiso, a former member of the Institute. He has been missing for some time._

“I guess now we know what he’s been up to. What’s our first move?”

Hikaru can feel the rising hum of power as Sai considers.

_3-2_

Hikaru whoops out a laugh. “Perfect,” he says, and leaps.

●○●○●

**1\. Write a brief report on a prominent superhero. Your response should include a highlight of their accomplishments, a description of their strengths and weaknesses, and an explanation as to what made them “good” as opposed to “bad.”**

“Can I choose anyone?” Hikaru asks the proctor. “Does Hon’inbou Shuusaku work?”

The proctor sighs. “When I said, ‘please be silent until the examination time is completed,’ was I being in any way vague or confusing?” When Hikaru simply stares at her, unrepentant, the proctor sighs. “Yes, Shindou, you may consider the most revered hero to have ever lived to be a ‘prominent superhero.’”

Hikaru frowns down at his exam again. He thinks… that he can do this.

_Of course you can, Hikaru._

“I can’t believe I studied for this,” Hikaru grouses aloud, and he begins to write.


End file.
